Visitors pan ‘chaotic’ Canada Day 150 show
Logistics top list of biggest issues at 2017 event
• Awful logistics, terrible weather and underwhelming entertainment meant the big Canada Day show in the nation’s capital last year received disastrous ratings from those who attended, according to a newly released internal government survey.
The July 1 show should have been the glamorous centrepiece of the yearlong Canada 150 celebrations, which had a budget topping $200 million. But the chaotic and interminable security lineups, combined with persistent thunderstorms, wrecked the experience for thousands of people — and it shows in the survey commissioned by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Compared to a survey on the Canada Day show in 2015, satisfaction with the overall festivities plummeted from 86 per cent to 54 per cent. The organization got the worst reviews, going from 90 per cent to 37 per cent.
Even the entertainment and performances — which oddly featured Irish rock band U2, but also Canadian names such as Alessia Cara, Chantal Kreviazuk and Gordon Lightfoot — were largely panned by attendees with satisfaction dropping from 83 per cent to 51 per cent.
The responses show an explosion in the “very dissatisfied” category, which was negligible in 2015. In 2017, 32 per cent were very dissatisfied with the organization of events, while 18 per cent were very dissatisfied with the overall event.
It also shows significant drops in the number of people agreeing that the show made them proud to be Canadian and that they felt more connected to the country’s capital.
The survey by Quorus Consulting was conducted in two phases with face-to-face interviews on site and then followup questions online as 1,534 people aged 16 or over participated in the interviews and 679 subsequently completed the online surveys.
Of those who completed the survey, 60 per cent had travelled to Ottawa for the occasion and of the travellers, 92 per cent were from elsewhere in Canada.
The event was plagued by enormous security lineups and stories emerged of people who joined a line to access Parliament Hill early in the morning and were still in line by mid-afternoon with no end in sight. Some stood in line for hours only to discover it was a “false line” and they had wasted their whole morning.
Through an access-to-information request in September, the Ottawa Citizen received a trove of angry letters written to Canadian Heritage from people who had attended. “We waited 51/2 hours in the rain,” said one.
“Thousands lined up for hours and never got to set foot on Parliament Hill. Why were there lines going nowhere?” said another who had travelled from Alberta.
“I have never seen such a poor, chaotic display,” said another letter from an outof-towner. “Shame on you Ottawa. You actually ruined Canada Day for many thousands of people visiting Ottawa.”
The survey asked for suggestions on how to improve the show and 74 per cent suggested “focusing on logistical aspects, particularly reducing the lineups and speed up the security process, improve the crowd management, control and security.” In addition, 13 per cent suggested better communication, while 12 per cent wanted better programming content.
Asked to agree with a number of statements, those saying the event was “inspiring” dropped from 66 per cent in 2015 to 55 per cent, while disagreement jumped from eight per cent to 21 per cent.
Those saying the event made them “feel more connected to the capital” dropped from 67 per cent to 53 per cent, while disagreement increased from eight per cent to 20 per cent.
And those saying the event “helped increase my sense of pride about being a Canadian” dropped from 74 per cent to 67 per cent, while disagreement went from six per cent to 14 per cent.
A statement from Canadian Heritage said Canada 150 was nevertheless an “exciting and historic year” and that the Canada Day events in Ottawa “reached 15 million Canadians on multiple platforms.
“We acknowledge the survey’s recently released results, and we are committed to working with our partners, including the Parliamentary Protective Services, and the RCMP, to ensure that celebrations in the capital remain accessible, safe, and enjoyable for all,” the statement said.